A video incorrectly claimed in its headline that a political tandem between former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and President Rodrigo Duterte for the May 2022 polls is a done deal.
The untrue post was published on Sept. 9 by the YouTube channel Showbiz Fanaticz with the title: “JUST IN: Matapos Mag BackOut sa 2022 si MAYOR INDAY SARA| Bongbong Marcos at Pres DUTERTE KASADO NA (After Mayor Inday Sara backed out of 2022 | Bongbong Marcos and Pres Duterte, locked in)!”
This is unsupported by any pronouncements from either the camp of Marcos or Duterte. Marcos, who has said he is eyeing a national post, has not disclosed which position he will vie for or who his running mate will be.
On Sept. 8, Duterte accepted the nomination for him to run as vice president by a faction of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). The party has not declared its candidate for president after Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go declined his nomination for the top post.
Showbiz Fanaticz’s claim is merely based on speculation.
On Sept. 9, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said she will not run for a national position after her father accepted his nomination to run for the vice presidency. This was stated at the start of the five-minute video, but shortly after, a voiceover made this claim:
“Ayon sa naging pahayag ng ilang political expert, posible nang mangyari ang inaantay ng lahat: ang tambalang Bongbong Marcos at Rodrigo Duterte na mangyayari sa 2022 election… (According to statements by some political experts, everybody’s much-awaited [announcement] might happen: the tandem of Bongbong Marcos and Rodrigo Duterte in the 2022 elections).”
On Aug. 6, a faction of PDP-Laban said the party will accept Marcos if he is willing to become a member and accept its principles. Marcos ran under the Nacionalista Party in the 2010 and 2016 elections.
The false and misleading video by Showbiz Fanaticz has garnered over 169,000 views and 990 interactions on Facebook (FB). It was embedded in an article of the blog NEWS GLOBAL PH, garnering almost 12,500 FB interactions, according to social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle.
Showbiz Fanaticz was created in November 2017.
VERA Files Fact Check also found a video published on Sept. 10 by the YouTube channel BANAT NEWS TV making the same false claim in its headline. Its content was composed of a series of unrelated news reports, in addition to a clip with a voiceover that read a script similar to Showbiz Fanaticz‘s.
(Editor’s Note: We updated this story on Sept. 17, 2021 to include the flagging of BANAT NEWS TV‘s video.)
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
